1. Field of the Invention
The invention broadly relates to rescue hoists.
2. Prior Art
A rescue hoist is a tool for winding in a rope to pull or raise people to safety. Ordinary capstan hoists require that the angle at which a rope attached to the load leaves the capstan drum must be exactly ninety degrees or the rope is likely to slip off the capstan causing a loss of control of the load being lowered or lifted. This can result in injury or death of rescue personnel and victims. To overcome this safety hazard, a pulley or lead block is attached to a solid object between the capstan and the load that the rope is passed through to assure that the rope always leaves the capstan drum at a constant ninety degree angle. This also requires an exact placement of the hoist relative to the load that is to be raised or lowered. As a result, capstan hoists are seldom used as rescue hoists because of inherent dangers if the hoist is not positioned and set up perfectly, and setting up a capstan hoist properly is generally too time consuming to be practical.
The present rescue hoist is comprised of a receiver tube attached to a mounting bracket. The receiver tube is for attaching to a motor vehicle. A motor is fixedly attached to the mounting bracket. A gear head is attached to the motor. A capstan is attached to the gear head. A rotatable plate is attached to the mounting bracket, and is rotatable relative to the mounting bracket about the axis of the capstan. A lead block with rollers is attached to the rotatable plate adjacent the capstan. A rope is wound around the capstan. A control end of the rope is gripped by an operator, and a load end of the rope is attached to a load, such as a person in distress.